Twice Tempted by a Rogue (Stud Club #2)(82)

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.” He took the lump of wood from behind his back and lobbed it at her.

She caught it easily and held it up for examination, turning it over in her hands. “Why, it’s carved. These look like leaves.” Looking up, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Is it meant to be a pineapple?”

“No,” he said impatiently, spearing a hand through his hair before snatching it from her grasp. “It is not a pineapple. It’s meant to be a lily. I think.” He kicked gently at the pile of wooden knobs, separating them. “There’s a matching one here somewhere. As I said, they’re not finished. The roses are coming out a little better. Have a look.” He plucked another from the pile and held it out to her.

“Ah, I see.” The object in her hand resembled a wooden cabbage more than anything, but she wouldn’t have said so for the world. “What are they for?”

“Finials, for the curtain rods. There are four windows up here, you see. I’ve been working on a different set for each.” He pointed to each window in turn. “Roses. Lilies. Daisies.” His touch landed on the windowpane at their side. “Tulips.”

He took the wooden rose from her hand and gave it a rueful smile. “I know they’re pitiful. But the work gave me something to pass the time if I woke in the night.”

“Why flowers?”

He shrugged. “I promised you flowers, didn’t I?”

She couldn’t even answer, for the sharp pinch in her chest.

“My first attempts were far worse than these, if you can believe it. They came easier once I switched to my left hand. You gave me that idea.”

Meredith turned to the window, unable to meet his gaze. “Tulips for this one, did you say? Then it must be the best.”

“It is.” He put his hands on her shoulders and nudged her close to the glass. “When it’s a clear day, up this high, you can see for miles. And if you face the downslope and look very sharp, you can just make out a thin slice of blue, a shade darker than the sky. That’s the ocean, Merry. Right off the Devonshire coast.” His thumbs stroked her shoulders. “Of course, you can’t see it now.”

No. No, she couldn’t. All she could see was the blackness outside reflecting their own image, like a mirror. Even in this imperfect, dark reflection, she could see the excitement in his expression, the spark in his eyes. All the emotion he’d been holding back—he’d poured it all into this house. Not only emotion, but hard work and good faith.

They’d built something too, between them. Just as he’d said from the first. In the course of all those conversations and kisses and time spent in one another’s company, they’d pieced together something wonderful—something with lace curtains and corner closets and an ocean view. Not just a house, but a loving home.

How would Rhys react when he learned it was all built on a foundation of misconceptions and needless guilt? Meredith didn’t want to find out, but she needed to.

She had to tell him everything. Tonight.

His grip tightened on her shoulders. “You deserve so much more, but this is only the beginning. I’m going to rebuild the whole estate in time, and you’re going to live in true luxury. The finest furnishings, a whole fleet of servants. I promise, you’ll never lift a finger again.”

“You needn’t promise me anything.”

“I want to. I owe it to you and your father both. You’ve suffered for years on my account, and now it’s—”

“No.” She turned to face him. “Please don’t speak to me of fate or fires or obligation.”

Frowning a little, he smoothed the hair from her brow. “Merry, I don’t know what more I can say. I’ve tried my best with the romance, but—”

She gasped. Romance. “Oh, no. Oh, God.”

“What is it?”

“Cora. We’re here to find Cora.”

Rhys swore viciously. How could he have forgotten their errand, for even one second? The guilt he felt was mirrored on Meredith’s face.

Shrugging away from him, she went for her lamp. “We’ve spent enough time here. We’ve got to go search the ruins.” Together they scrambled up the bluff. Once they reached the ruins of Nethermoor Hall, they separated at what remained of the front entrance and circled in opposite directions. Rhys took the outer perimeter, and Meredith followed the inner wall. They each stumbled and shouted their way around the ruin, calling Cora’s name until they were hoarse. Nothing.

He reunited with Meredith at the crumbling arch. The glow of her lamp bobbed in the mist. The wind was picking up.

“Any sign of her?” he asked.

“No.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Perfect. Just what they needed, a storm. “I suppose we should be getting back to the village, then. Perhaps she’s turned up elsewhere.”

The bobbing glow stilled. “We haven’t checked every part of the ruin yet.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Though he knew damn well what she meant. Had he forgotten that place, truly? Or had he just wanted to forget it so fiercely that he’d managed to wipe it from his mind? But Meredith was right … if Cora had wandered up here, the cellar would have made a logical haven from the mist and cold. They would need to look.